Professionals talk about the Certification Process

Certified Consultants with a background in:
Speech Therapy
Family Therapy and Psychology
Behavioral Therapy
Education
Occupational Therapy

Parent Consultants

Certified Consultants with a background in Speech Therapy:

RDI® has truly changed the way I am able to help families.

I can define my career in the "pre-RDI" years and the "RDI years." I am a speech language pathologist (SLP). Prior to hearing Dr Gutstein present, I worked in the schools, and then in private practice. My private practice focused on communication disorders and autism, but I constantly was left with the feeling that my work was not really impacting children in the ways I hoped. I could help children learn to talk, but never felt I was helping them with their autism. I found RDI on the internet and then read "Autism, Aspergers: Solving the Relationship Puzzle.”When I first heard Dr Gutstein present at a 2-day Introductory Workshop, I was overwhelmed with a sense of relief. Relief that someone was able to clearly articulate what needed to be addressed in autism. And relief that someone finally delineated a systematic way to address it. I clearly remember calling my husband from the parking lot of that conference and telling him I needed to become certified. Fortunately, I have a supportive husband.

Since becoming an RDI® Program Certified Consultant, many opportunities have become available. Doors have been opened for presentations and research, travel and collaboration. To me, RDI® is a constant learning opportunity. Many nights I find myself awake with the exciting possibilities from some new concept I learned through Dr Gutstein. Most importantly though, RDI® has truly changed the way I am able to help families. The changes I see parents empowered to make in their children are truly amazing. I love the appreciation of the small miracles so many of us take for granted in the development of children. I am blessed to watch these developments on a daily basis through my work with families. As a professional, RDI® has made that available to me. I believe it was one of the best decisions of my life.

If I were to offer advice to someone considering certification, I would tell them to turn their brain on and be prepared to work hard. It is challenging and immensely rewarding.

Amy Cameron, MA, CCC-SP
North Carolina, USA

I can vividly remember when families told me their child said they loved them for the first time, with an intense emotional connection.

I was at a point in my career as a speech/language pathologist where I felt like I was not meeting the needs of the families coming into our center who had children with autism. I, along with my colleagues, were looked at as the "experts," the ones who understand the disorder and the ones who could guide these families into improving their quality of life.  However, as I searched and went to inservice after inservice, I was still feeling hopeless.  Then, I heard another speech pathologist in our area had begun training in the RDI® Program. That led me to a 2-day workshop where I felt like Dr. Gutstein was talking to me.  His words went right to my heart, his philosophy and understanding of autism was the piece that these other programs were missing. At that point, it was such an easy decision to begin the certification process. I came across many obstacles in the beginning, however, I was very determined to begin this mission of empowering the parents to feel more competent in building a quality of life for their family.

The impact this process has had on families is beyond my expectations. There is a common thread with all of these families, and that is the quality of their lives has improved in such significant ways. I can vividly remember when families told me their child said they loved them for the first time, with an intense emotional connection. These families are now creating opportunities for their children they never thought possible in the beginning. These children are now forming meaningful friendships, having competent roles in the classrooms and environments outside of the immediate family. The parents can now see into the future and believe their child truly will have a quality of life.

The RDI® Program has helped me understand at a much deeper level how important it is to slow our lives down and appreciate the "small steps;" how important it is to make sure you feel heard, build competency into every piece of our waking lives and just enjoy the moment you are in. 

I would suggest for those beginning the process of RDI® Program certification to take their time in understanding the complexity of this program, to know it is such an ongoing learning process, and that we all are constantly learning, making mistakes and growing from that experience. The group of professionals who go through this process are such a dedicated group who are warm, understanding and so dedicated in what they believe in. I feel so privileged to be a part of it.

Barbara A. Duckett, M.A., CCC-SLP
Missouri, USA

I have seen the profound change RDI® has had on entire families.

As a speech pathologist who had been working for many years with children with autism, my frustration had always been that we could teach many children to talk, but their communication skills were still lacking. People would be fooled by the child's ability to repeat rote, memorized speech. The terms speech, language and communication are related but not synonymous. Speech output does not imply communication nor does the lack of speech mean that a child cannot communicate or lacks language. There is so much focus on production of words that families and professionals often overlook the fact that there may be little communicative intent behind the speech.

In 2002 one of my parents returned from seeing [Certified Consultant] Linda Andron and told me of the“new”method--Relationship Development Intervention® Program. I decided to give it a try. I was fortunate enough to have a client who was willing to try this new method with me. As we embarked on the mutual adventure together we had little idea of what surprises were yet to come. When I started with my certification the program was still very much focused on "lab" time and that is what Dylan, his mother, and I did.

I did not realize what huge strides he had made until I reviewed my "before" and "after" RDAs. The changes were astounding. This little boy who had been so unfocused and disconnected was now seeking out his mother for her companionship. As an added benefit his speech and language skills had also improved significantly. Dylan used to be unintelligible but now he was easy to understand with only one or two quickly corrected articulation problems. His mother pointed out how long his utterances had become, and that he had developed a sense of humor. This was all with very little formal speech therapy in school. Our main focus had been RDI®. I had long believed that the neurotypical partner needed to change their interaction style in order for the child with ASD to change theirs. Here was my proof! Now several years later I am seeing other changes in clients. One little boy who would have been categorized as "non verbal" is now starting to talk at age 7.

In addition to these kind of changes I have also seen the profound change RDI ® has had on the entire family. I watched a client's birthday party video; I was astounded at the experience-sharing communication his 7 year old brother was using. He could only have learned this from the example his parents had set. This family had totally embraced the RDI® lifestyle. They told me that it had made a profound difference in ALL their lives. They had slowed down, found time to enjoy one another, to take time for a walk or a game together.

When I see the changes this program has made, not only in the life of the child with autism but in the entire family structure, it is impossible not to be enthusiastic. In addition, even with those families not doing RDI® it has changed the way I do therapy.

E. Cheryl Fletcher, M.A., CCC-SLP
California, USA

It's all been worth it.

I was working as a speech pathologist in an ABA and Speech Pathology clinic. I didn't do ABA, it just never felt right. ABA didn't fit with my philosophies on the development of language and communication. Then I discovered the RDI® Program. It just fitted. Here was justification for communicating with the kids, not just teaching them the empty rules of language.

I am what you might call senior, quite senior. I could retire now that I had an empty nest or I could expand my horizons. I have chosen to do the latter through RDI®. It was a major decision. My life is now full of tape deadlines, almost incomprehensible technology, readings and midnight chats. I suffer the anxiety of submitting supervision tapes and wondering whether they will be good enough; that is hard to deal with. But it's all been worth it. It was worth it when I saw my supervision client walk out of the RDA™ feeling 10 times taller than when he walked in. He'd connected with his mum and was reveling in that feeling of connectedness.

Becoming an RDI® consultant is not easy but it sure is satisfying!

Jo Fokkes, Speech Pathologist, L.A.C.S.T.
NSW, Australia

Becoming a Certified Consultant changed the nature of my practice profoundly.

I used to have to be content with watching children making slow progress in being able to tolerate, enjoy and benefit from their social skills groups. Now, I see their thinking and flexibility develop much more quickly and at much deeper levels, while also watching their relationships with their families and friends become transformed and much more rewarding for all. Proof that the diagnosis of an autistic spectrum disorder does not have to mean parents have to stop hoping and dreaming of the day when their child's life will be much like any other child's.

Janet Bowden, M.A., M.F.T. Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist,
California, USA

It has been fantastic for my own professional development and my own family life as well!

I am a licensed psychologist with a Ph.D. that included formal education and training in child development, cognitive science, consultation, family systems, and intervention for children with exceptional needs. I have found that the RDI® certification process provides coherence to my professional work that I was seeking. RDI integrates my previous knowledge in a way that makes me a more effective provider for families and children.

Amy Leventhal, Ph.D.
Wisconsin, USA

Certified Consultants with a background in Behavioral Therapy:

The RDI® Program helps me to stay motivated and to continue the learning process.

I am a professional with a background in ABA and sibling counseling. When I went through the certification process, my colleagues Jim Lockey and Kim Rowley had already started their training. Our company needed another person to go through the certification process, someone with an administrative background. The certification process was definitely a learning experience for me. I think that I learned the most from the video supervision portion. I was able to learn from my mistakes and to experiment. I didn't take on a lot of new clients right away, so I had extra time to devote to my supervision case. I started to feel more competent after completing the advanced training.

Getting certified was an important step for myself, Jim and Kim. Our local regional center would not vendor our agency until we were close to being certified. We needed to provide documentation once we received the certification paperwork. Only then did we start getting referrals for clients. We are now getting referrals on a regular basis.

The RDI® Program helps me to stay motivated and to continue the learning process. Since RDI® is always changing, it pushes me to stay focused and on top of things. This, in turn, helps the families that I work with. My advice to someone just starting the certification process is to not give up. You will encounter many challenges and may question your ability at times. Believe in yourself and persevere!

Lara Brandon M.S., PPS
California, USA

Families' lives are changed for the better on a continuous basis.

Prior to reading about the RDI® Program, I had 15 years' experience working in the field of autism and 10 years in early childhood development. I had seen in other autism treatment programs many compensations. Accommodations and short-term solutions were helping families briefly, but the core deficits of autism were not being addressed. The long-term outcome was not good. When I read about RDI it was an 'enlightening' moment. It made sense. At the time I was working as a behavioral consultant but was very disillusioned because the children were learning skills but not making real progress. I decided to go through the certification training process as I could see that RDI® would be a better way of treating autism. I mortgaged my small apartment, packed up my toddler and traveled to the USA to pursue the study. After 3 1/2 years since the beginning of my RDI journey, I'm seeing families' lives are changed for the better on a continuous basis. Families are no longer living in crisis and are benefiting from enjoying interacting with their child in a fulfilling and enjoyable way that was a distant dream prior to the RDI® Program.

I now only provide RDI services and there is plenty of interest in Australia for RDI. The families like RDI as it costs 1/5 of other treatment programs such as ABA and the dads love it as they feel they are more involved with their child on the spectrum as well as their other children. I'm pleased that since I brought RDI to Australia, as well as introducing the Connections Center team to Australia (they have been here twice now), there are currently 10 Aussies in training and several others around the Asia-Pacific region. I read somewhere that we will have the highest number of RDI consultants per capita once they are all certified, woo hoo!

RDI has impacted on me professionally as I am now pursing a masters Degree in Counselling. I can see the impact that being compassionate, supportive and teaching the parents how to change their lives to grow a family is the most important role in the treatment process. I am acutely aware of how I interact with my child and that it is what led me to RDI. It is what I do daily with my child: slow down, enjoy most moments or see them as learning opportunities, and relish in the interaction process, not the activity. I have learned I have to balance between what I do with my daughter, my RDI consulting practice and my extended life with family and friends.

To the people thinking of certification I would say, Do it! Just do it!”The RDI Program will change the whole way you think and approach working with a client with an Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) and their family; you will not go back to old ways but be constantly enriched by learning and forming new methods to engage. What's happened in Australia has been exciting and overwhelming. I try not to get overwhelmed as I see the growth of the RDI® Program here "as a marathon, not a sprint!"

Libby Scherrer, B.A. Dip T (Early childhood), G.D.E. (Special Education)
NSW, Australia

Certified Consultants with a background in Education:

My work as an RDI® Consultant has had a profound impact on every aspect of my life and I am grateful for that on a daily basis.

As a school psychologist by training, I was painfully aware of my limitations to have an impact on children's lives. How can we separate the way children learn from their life with their family? The RDI® Program gave me a way to integrate my work with the entire experience of a child in the world, rather than compartmentalizing my work. I think this model of serving as a consultant to parents, who are the primary intervention deliverers, is tremendously powerful and unique.

Fran Shapiro, M. Ed, Ed S, NCSP
Illinois, USA

I am amazed to be making more of a difference than I ever realized possible for children and their families.

For the past fifteen years, I've had a rewarding career as a special education teacher- working hard to make a difference in children's lives by developing their competency and by advocating for them in a school setting. Since discovering RDI®, however (now as a consultant in training) I am amazed to be making more of a difference than I ever realized possible for children and their families. The difference is the parent-child-consultant connection. Now, I not only work with children, I am able to help entire families to overcome obstacles and improve their long term quality of life! The difference has been so empowering and heart-felt that I have completely changed my own life goals- placing emphasis on spending quality time with my own family and working diligently to set up a growing RDI parent support system in our community.

Amy Accardo, M.S. Ed.
Pennsylvania, USA

Certified Consultants with a background in Occupational Therapy:

I love my job now and can't imagine doing anything else.

Then, one day, a wonderful school administrator offered to send me to the 2-day RDI® Program Introductory Workshop (this is exciting because in private practice, no one pays you to go to a workshop). I had several "ah-ha" moments over those two days and knew within a short period of time that this was what I NEEDED TO DO. In my mind, there was no option, it was do it or die! I began the RDI® training and persevered. I took it much slower than most because I could not financially do it quickly. It was harder work that way, as Ana warned, but I was determined. I have never looked back. I still do Occupational Therapy because the RDI® Program is like the ultimate OT program. I love my job now and can't imagine doing anything else. My enthusiasm runneth over although I still feel I have a lot to learn! That is what I love about RDI, there is never a shortage of things to learn! Good-bye, "Domo days"!

Rosanne Brezden Papadopoulos, O.T.
Manitoba, Canada

Certified Consultants with a background in Other Fields - Parent- Consultants:

The changes in my son were incredible, and I wanted to bring this groundbreaking program to more families.

I decided to become an RDI Program® Certified Consultant after we'd been doing RDI® with our son for several months. I really thought I knew a lot going into the training, since I had been doing the program for a while, but there was so much more to learn! Parent-consultants have the unique perspective of raising a child on the spectrum, and of practicing the RDI® lifestyle themselves, so we truly understand what our families are going through. We know firsthand that it is not a quick fix solution, and that it can be difficult at times, but the rewards are so worth it! Going through the certification process has given me greater insight into the core deficits that we are remediating, and the knowledge that remediation is possible. I am no longer a helpless bystander watching others do therapy on my child. I know what is possible, and I know what I wish for him, and I know how to help him now. I want to offer that to other parents as well.

Laurel Joss, B.S.
IL, USA

There have been many joys over the last three years in RDI®...the real joy is seeing the change in the children.

For the first 12 years of my career, I was in broadcasting. A dear friend of mine recently asked me why I decided to work with children with autism instead of going back into TV and radio. She said "It just sounds SO glamorous and exciting to me -- new things happening all the time, being a celebrity, lots of perks -- I always wondered why you made that choice."

Hmm. She was right. It was pretty cool. I think the first choice I made (which was practically instantaneous) was to drop out of it when my son was diagnosed. I wanted to be sure I was one of the people helping him get better and not on the side lines. I think once I made this choice, there was no going back..."in for a dime, in for a dollar" as they say...I'd been trained for years by wonderful mentors and it just seemed that path God had for my life--maybe different than I had planned, but an exciting adventure nonetheless. It was the right thing to do. I absolutely never regret it.

There have been many joys over the last three years in RDI®...the real joy is seeing the change in the children. I just watched a tape of a child I've been with for almost three years. His mother was getting ready for a game she was going to play with all three siblings (he has a brother and sister). The camera was just running already and what really caught my eye was what was happening while she got ready. His sister, who is a little younger, started running in a circle and he started chasing her; she suddenly started yelling "ring around the rosie" and having them fall down. He was laughing and chasing with her...that in itself was amazing. But then he said "my turn," and she started chasing him...he started doing "ring around the rosie" really silly, having them fall down fast, then faster, trying to trick her...they were both laughing hysterically. This was a child who, when I started, didn't want to take part in most things and most often not with his precious sibs. I'm just so blessed to watch this tape and be a part of the bringing together of this family.

Katherine Lee, B.A.,
Texas, USA

I knew this was the answer I'd been looking for.

As a parent of a child on the spectrum, I was continually searching for "best practices" as they applied to my child. Once I discovered the RDI® Program, I knew this was the answer I'd been looking for. There wasn't a consultant in our area at the time so I had to travel a considerable distance to access consultation services and support. I then decided to become an RDI® Program Certified Consultant. Somehow I also felt that perhaps this path I chose was fate. I finally "knew what I wanted to be when I grew up." This is somewhat humorous because I'm middle-aged. I have found this to be the most satisfying, rewarding, fulfilling work I'd ever hoped for. Helping make a positive impact in quality of life for the families I work with has been an amazing experience. This process has also helped my husband and I be the best parents we can be. We continue to grow and evolve along with the RDI® Program. For those of you considering RDI Program certification, my best advice is to get RDI-educated (i.e. attend a 2 day workshop, watch the RDI® DVD, Going to the Heart of Autism, read “Autism, Aspergers: Solving the Relationship Puzzle", speak with an RDI® Program Consultant) and make an informed decision as to whether or not this is a right fit for you. Consultants are very dedicated and dynamic individuals. My colleagues inspire me everyday!

Lisa Palasti, Parent of two precious boys, one with ASD
Ontario, Canada

Because I have seen my son reach new levels of development with RDI®, I know first-hand how effective it is.

I began the RDI certification process in May, 2006. As a parent of a child on the autism spectrum, I chose to begin the certification process for two very important reasons.

Because I have seen my son reach new levels of development with RDI®, I know first-hand how effective it is. I have researched other therapies and tried a few. Nothing has come close to doing what RDI® has done for him in such a short period of time. I now believe that it is only a matter of time and effort before he overcomes his autism. When I see other families with autism in my community, I feel badly that most people in this province have not even heard of RDI®. And for those that have, there are huge waiting lists and very few consultants. By becoming a consultant, there is a greater chance that the families in my area will learn about the RDI® Program sooner, and will have the option of choosing it for themselves. I would like all families of children on the spectrum to have the same understanding I now have about autism, and the same hope I have for remediation.

As a teacher, I know that the way to become really good at something is to have to teach that "something" to other people. I feel pretty competent in my ability as an RDI® parent, but I believe that if I want to know as much as I can about RDI® and keep as current as is possible, the way to do that is to complete the certification process. As I work with my supervision family, and think about the best way to explain a concept or answer one of their questions, I find that my own understanding is deepened. With everything I read and learn for my certification, I am always thinking about how it applies to my son. When I think about obstacles and successes I have with my son, it causes me to think about how these same issues apply to other children on the spectrum. I think this dual process is helping me become a better RDI® parent and eventually will enhance my competence as a consultant.

Families who choose to do the RDI® Program are living an "RDI® lifestyle." I guess I will be taking it one step further and "living" RDI® in my professional life as well.

Paulette Cormier, B.Ed.
Ontario, Canada